Revenge and the Cold Heart
by A.W. LeMonte
Summary: Esther isn't dead and now, she's back for revenge. Though the list of those who wronged her is small, she's going to hunt them and only when they're all dead will she be at peace.
1. Chapter 1

_**AN/DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING OF OPRHAN. THIS SHOULD SUFFICE FOR COPYRIGHT**_

_(Text): Thought_

_(__**Text) Dream**_

_(_Normal): Self-Explanatory

Chapter 1

As she began to sink, she felt rage for not achieving her purpose. For too long had she attempted to start a family of her own and been rejected by the men she idolized. Was it her fault that she was born as she was? Okay, she'd come to the realization that maybe being in a relation with someone who looked no just slightly older than nine seemed rather odd. But they couldn't see what they didn't understand. She was just a simple woman trying to make her way in the world. A woman who had the same thought and desires as any other woman.

Her blood began to strangely warm her in the frigid waters of the pond. She tried to move her neck but thanks to the force of the kick received from Kate, she realized it was almost pointless. But after bracing herself as she had when she broke her arm in the vice, she jerked her head and she could hear the bones crack clearly even though her own heartbeat was muffled. She swam towards the breach in the ice which was perfectly outlined by the eerie pale glow of the moon. Making it to the surface, she coughed harshly blood spewing from her mouth. She gurgled the foul iron-like liquid in her mouth and forced it down.

"_Never has anyone so much as struck me," _she thought to herself, "_yet, that bitch nearly broke my neck. And John, dearest John, you would've so loved what I was willing to offer you._" She pulled herself out with all of her strength, the weight of her soaked clothes, hindering her progress until finally, she was out of the water her ankles and feet only over the hole. She felt cutting in her leg and reached into her pants which made a make-shift sheath for the steak knife she'd used before. She pulled it out. The blade's tip and edge was coated with her blood. Rising slowly, she was barely able to a walk, the pain in her neck making it nearly impossible to focus her direction or her eyes. Making her way into the neighboring wooded area, she made sure she was out of sight of the house.

After traveling for about five more minutes, she came to rest on a fallen tree trunk. She took off her pants so as to look at her cut. It wasn't bad really just a slight scratch and she'd had far worse. Thirty-three years of life never comes without having major cuts, breaks, and in some cases, a tooth or two. As soon as she was redressed and decent, she heard the distant wail of police sirens. She barely made herself visible on the edge of the woods and looked over at the cars. An ambulance was also there. She took advantage of the confusion and bolted over the snow towards the house. She crept along the side of the house and cautiously looked around.

A large black bag was being taken into the ambulance. She shook her head in disapproval. However, sensing she wasn't safe she climbed the drainpipe all the way up to the roof. She got on the roof and looked down with a bird's eye view. She saw Kate and Max being escorted into a waiting squad car and the police scouring the grounds for any trace of her presence. She'd studied the house extensively during her short stay and she knew exactly where her room was in relation to where she was currently at.

Crawling on her hands and knees, she slinked catlike and quiet until she came to the section of room which was right above her window. She knew she couldn't wait long outside and the sooner the police were done in their search for her, the better. She saw the shadows of the police moving to and fro in her room, a fact which irritated her to no end. At least the last time around, there wasn't much of a room left to investigate. A few minutes later, the room she knew was empty of anyone trying to invade upon her personal space. She went back over to the location where the cars were stationed and soon, she saw that the police where packing up and getting ready to leave. Knowing from experience never to leave anything to chance, she waited the extra five minutes.

Her patience was well rewarded for soon afterward, every police car was gearing up to leave the premises. Going back to her window, she used the sound of the cars withdrawing to distort the sound of her breaking the glass with her feet and swinging into her room. She headed to her closet where her suitcase was. She opened it and still found her "little girl" dentures safe and secure underneath some spare clothes. She could no longer abide being in the house and she made up her mind not to be there any longer than necessary. Taking one of her old-fashioned clothing arrangements, she went to the bathroom, turned on the hot water, and took a shower.

The searing pain coursed through her neck and knowing no one else was in the house, she let her pain be known. She screamed to the top of her lungs until she'd no more air or energy for screaming. Having washed up, she turned off the shower and looked at her form in the mirror. How she would beg for an extra four feet of height. Having dressed and looking somewhat back up to par, she rummaged the house for any spare cash. She knew where Daniel kept his money and she raided it to find the entire sum of seventy dollars. After searching the rest of the house, she came up with a total of two-hundred dollars. Afterwards, she headed down to the basement and after finding the nozzle, turned on the gas. She knew she'd only a few minutes of time before and therefore, she utilized every precious second. She took one of the wine bottles from Kate's stash and proceeded afterwards to lock every window.

Once it was done, she made one last stop, Kate's dresser and grabbed her scarf and John's box of matches. She then bolted for the door and locked it behind her. It had been six minutes. Just two minutes longer and the task would be done. Taking advantage of the moment of spare time, she cut Kate's scarf in half with the knife and soaked it in the wine. She then wound it tight and knotted it off putting the knot deep in the bottle. She then lit the soaked half of the scarf and threw it with all her might. The bottle turned, and turned, a flaming bottle of death. The bottle broke through the window which it'd been aimed at and soon afterwards, a thundering blast threw her off her feet.

She'd just barely recovered from the shockwave before she'd gotten to her feet and run once again but not for the woods but for the highway. She knew that a life waited for her beyond this hell she'd been in. Now she'd no more need to hide, she was who she was. Leena Klammer. Now, before setting out into the world, she knew of only one thing she had left to do. Running into town she, came to a cell phone shop. She saw it was still open and she cautiously went in gliding behind the desk.

The manager came out and looked around the store to find no one whatsoever. In the midst of his search, he felt it; an unbelievably sharp pain coming from his gut, his warm fluids running down over his legs. He was going to scream but a swift kick from underneath the desk knocked him to his knees. Leena took the knife from his gut and stabbed him three times one in the trachea and twice in the chest.

The manager gurgled his blood as he was slowly dying and as his body fell to the floor, Leena checked his pockets and found an iPhone 4. She dialed the number and soon afterward she heard the other line begin to ring.

Unfortunately for her, the person she'd called wasn't available but instead she got his voicemail, "_Hello this is Dr. Varva and you've reached me at an inconvenient time but if you leave your name and number, I'll get back to you as soon as possible." _ The message repeated in Russian and again in Estonian before a beep was heard.

Leena composed herself and said, "Hello, Dr. Varva. It's your old friend and best patient Leena. I know it was you who tipped of Kate and you'll pay the piper. That, my good doctor, I can assure you. Well, it seems you're right. No man could ever find interest in me because of my disposition and you're right. Now, Kate's family is ruined and he is dead. In all truth, I find murder liberating. But, I digress. I'll see you soon, doctor. Until then, good day and who knows, maybe I'll drop by your house with a wedding anniversary present."

She turned off the phone and left the store but not before emptying the register. Now, fully loaded, she headed down the street. "_Don't worry, Kate. I've not forgotten you," _she thought to herself, "_No. Think of my return to you as the harbringer of death. The only difference being, death is merciful. Whereas I am not, I will have my revenge against you, and only then, once you're gone and there's a baby fresh and kicking in my womb, will I finally be at an eternal peace." _


	2. Chapter 2

_**AN/DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING OF OPRHAN. THIS SHOULD SUFFICE FOR COPYRIGHT**_

_(Text): Thought_

_(__**Text) Dream**_

_(_Normal): Self-Explanatory

Chapter 1

As Kate sat in the room, she counted the stitching applied to her leg, Forty five in total. The number seemed like a lot but felt a thousand times better than being opened. Max had been taken by the doctors for tests to determine the level of psychiatric trauma that may or may not have taken place as a result of seeing her father murdered, being nearly killed herself, and the basic trauma of what the aptly named Esther had caused. She herself was fine by her own account. She didn't very much like doctors or the general public for their doubt of her and her accusations against the Estonian rat. She realized she couldn't be mad forever but to have the grounds to say, I told you so was more than enough for her.

She lay awake in bed not much really thinking of anything. The snow was still falling and the wind was whipping up the frost and howling like a wolf outside. The storm she knew had progressed and she thought to herself "_Well, if that little midget freak of a bitch is still alive, she'll be frozen to death within the next few minutes." _Kate lay her head back and let her eyes slowly close. She was still on edge from the attack for her ears were picking up the most faint of sounds; the clack of a visitor's heels down the hall, the dripping water within the pipes above; the sound of water hitting Styrofoam from the water service station. She found it hard to admit too herself but the fight with Leena had left her exhilarated.

With Leena however, she wasn't at all in distress. She was safe for the moment. The smell of the bus she was on bothered her to no end but she deemed it a necessary sacrifice in order to complete her plan. Originally, she'd planned to just get revenge of her former doctor and Kate. However, as she looked at her situation now with lenses of clarity, she concluded why not eliminate everyone who had irritated her? Ever since her stay in America, she'd been bullied, tormented due to her permanent stature, and mocked because of her more refined tastes than that of the average school girl. If she was going to have revenge on all those who'd wronged her since her stay with the Coleman's she figured, best start at the beginning.

She wasn't at all stupid. Stalking prey was for her the next best exercise to acting. In her short time with the Coleman's she'd learned the entire layout of the town and in that capacity, knew where her first victim was. She'd memorized the license plate number when her father came to tend to his little angel when Leena herself had shattered her leg on the slide; a fun thing gravity. She knew from what Brenda's friends had talked about her and her nice house that she was in the upper part of the town in the "rich district" as she always termed it. It wasn't that she was jealous of wealth; money had very little meaning to her anyway but it was how certain people carried themselves or looked down their noses at her or her fashion sense that irked her.

By this time, the bus had come to a stop; her stop. She got off and even though the bitter wind whipped around her, she wasn't at all unaccustomed to feeling cold for the cold it seemed were her dearest friend, ever-present ever-lasting and ever-constant. When she'd killed the family she'd lived with before the Coleman family and burned the house down, she felt as if the fire were colder than the Estonian winter winds and frost which lay all around her. She made her way through yards unseen in the darkness of the night. The only light was the light reflected by the snow from the occasional streetlight. She came to Brenda's house and saw at first what an impressive structure it was. It was a three story light-blue Victorian style house with what looked like a tower on the far right of the structure which gave the home the look of a very rustic fairytale castle.

Leena moved stealthily towards the abode and wrapped in her black overcoat, she was barely discernable in the dark to anyone passing by. Looked around and spying the drainpipe she decided she'd no choice except climb it. Apparantly, Brenda's family didn't believe in fire escapes. Making her way up the pipe, she came to the second floor which had a nice balcony complete with white bannister. Crossing carefully over to the balcony, she spotted a door on the far corner of the balcony. Trying her luck, she gently turned the knob and just by sheer happenstance, it was unlocked. The door opened with a slight creek which made her wince for the thought of being discovered was a bit too much at this point. Why, she'd come all this way and to have someone catch her now was out of the question.

As she made her way into the nice warm house, she heard a man's voice say, "Did it just get cold?" A woman responded, "You probably forgot to latch the balcony door, Jason." The woman she judged was Brenda's mother, "I keep telling you, you have to firmly lock things in this house since they have a history of coming undone." Leena walked over to the stair railing and being she was on the second floor, she'd an excellent view of the entrance to the house and the living space on the other side of the balcony however, to go fully out into the hallway she knew would be just too obvious so she just ever so cautiously peaked around the corner.

The sound of footsteps clomping up the stairs in her direction sparked her hiding instinct. She took note of a large vertical chest nearby and stood perfectly still beside it. She heard the door close and click shut. The footsteps receded and everything on the floor was once again quite except-except that odd sound, a whispery drone through the ceiling above she then realized it, the sound of water moving through pipes. Brenda.

Taking the knife from a small strap around her thigh, she moved along the dimly lit hallway where shadows reigned supreme but she knew the path towards her quarry for things in her life were now following a pattern and perhaps _the _pattern which made her so bloodthirsty. For in the world of glass that was Leena's mind, none could ever have the pleasure of making a mockery of neither her nor anything she held dear. Her archaic wardrobe bible, her various vices; yes all these where what made Leena, Leena. Esther was just a shell; a plaster of Paris face for society in which every lust and desire was tamed and extremely watered down. In truth, every alias she'd gone by in life was just like one of her paintings; a two-faced representation of the truth.

She was now at the bathroom door. She gripped the handle firmly and slowly pushed down so as to avoid the usual noise such handles or any handle in general makes. Easing the door open the felt the hot humid steam spew out into the hallway in a thick whitish mist only made visible by the light that was on in the bathroom. She walked past the young girl in the shower trough the blurred glass. Not noticing her entry, Brenda continued to frolic rather than wash in the shower. Leena observed this with sheer disgust of she knew that a girl of Brenda's age should be through with such antics. Her bad leg was wrapped securely in a cast which meant two things, she was slower than usual and she would need help getting out of the shower if she couldn't balance.

Realizing the state of the bathroom as mostly steam, Leena went over to the light switch and using her knife, struck the wire which connected the light to the circuit breaker. Now, the bathroom was black as pitch. Having memorized where the shower door was, Leena opened it and able to see Brenda's slightly chubby form in the light from a nearby window, she plunged her knife into the girl's throat up to the hilt. There was a gurgling of blood from the throat being constricted before Leena eased the girl's body down into the tub. Smiling grimly, she said, "Relax and don't worry, you're going to heaven." With that, she snapped the young girl's neck to ensure the job was done. She left the bathroom and left the same way she came in completely unseen and unheard.

**AN: I know it's short but please read and review.**


	3. Chapter 3

_**AN/DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING OF OPRHAN. THIS SHOULD SUFFICE FOR COPYRIGHT**_

_(Text): Thought_

_(__**Text) Dream**_

_(_Normal): Self-Explanatory

Chapter 3

She knew it was a sterotype of her people to be able to completely vanish in a night and to Leena, the myth was somewhat true. However she knew such ways were usually met by whoring around and she wasn't about to steep to such an extreme level of depravity. She still wore the face deception and hell had crafted for her; one of youth and innocence but her heart beat like the thunder of the snare which throws the soldier into courage. Wrath was not a part of her but could be made one, murder not part of her, again could be made part of her.

As she neared the intersection, she noticed a black hummer nearby. She heard the engine still purring and she took it as a sign. She tried to get in and as was expected it was locked. Taking one of the pins from her hair she bent it and tweaked it to make it fit just right and thanks to her years of practice, had picked the lock, got in, opened up the backseat so she could hide and lay there still as stone. There was time enough to take a brief nap and then the thudding of heavy feet came within earshot. The sound of grocery bags wrinkling irritated her but she couldn't help it.

"I don't know why you bought this thing, Max," a woman complained to her evidently unwilling-to-listen husband, "We aren't even a family yet and you buy a Hummer which can fit eight people."

"It's because, I'm so damn sexy and I need a machine just like this to show the world how good we've got it." The man replied the scent of some kind of drink still on his breath.

The little crack Leena gave herself for air in the seat's cover allowed her to smell a lot of things not just the man's foul breath but the scent of a nearby restaurant. The smell of pasta with fresh baked sauces was torturing her stomach but for the sake of maintaining her sanity she knew she must resist the powerful temptation to burst out of the seat. Then the rumble of the engine's acceleration took hold. Leena caution was now peaked as she lifted up the cushioning which concealed her and she looked around her in the darkness. Using the blackness of night and timing the distance between highway lights, she slithered from her place of concealment to the belly of the Hummer

She heard the rolling of a radio going from station to station and then the warning came up, "_All travelers! Be on the lookout for one Leena Klammer a.k.a. Esther Coleman. Aged 10;black hair and brown eyes." _

"Coleman…Esther?" asked the woman in the seat in front of her, "isn't that the weird little girl that Daryl told us about; the new girl who lives with the Coleman's?"

"Yeah but all they say is weird crap about the kid anyway so really I wouldn't be too concerned. If she is half as crazy and weird as they say, then I'm sure she can make it anywhere in the world if she has gone missing. But even then, that's new for this section of the city. Usually, nothing bad happens here. "

"You're probably right," she replied "she probably ran off and is somewhere where she knows she'll be alright."

Leena couldn't help but snicker to herself silently. It was because she couldn't believe how well it all worked. She'd worked this deception before but never ever had it been so well. People were obviously concerned about her situation but it was all pointless to. She knew that if she were to reveal herself to anyone even than special someone, it'd be absolutely catastrophic; if not life ending.

Soon, she felt the Hummer come to a stop and taking that as her cue, went back to her previous hiding place as both the man and woman got out of the car. The doors closed and there was silence for the longest time. Judging she was safe, she got out of her hiding place again and looked around. Pitch black except for the light which lit the driveway to the house. She opened the door and as she looked around, heard a steady running beat behind her. Instinctively, she whirled around, seizing her knife and slashed, whirled the knife, slash again in the opposite direction, directed the blade downwards and plunged the blade into the back of the neck of the Cocker Spaniel.

Luckily the beast made no noise and the spray of blood was minimal. Minimal enough for the spotting on her clothing to be associated with a bad fall on the ice. Realizing she'd not get far traveling in this manner, she looked at the street and saw it's sign. Her instinct or rather, intuition led her to the elementary school.

She'd enough money to get a bus ticket but to get one that lasted to the end of town where the hospital was without people asking questions would be the more difficult part. Blending in with the usual crowd was her only ticket and it worked; experience taught her that. She only didn't like it because of her stature, people wouldn't procure you a seat as readily or help you find one quicker. But then, her charm could always remedy the problem and again, experience had taught her this. This in mind, she headed on her way down the street towards the bus station.

With Kate meanwhile, she couldn't get over the feeling; the horrible feeling that something was wrong. It wasn't entirely her fault but the nightmares, that's where everything took a turn for the worse. She couldn't get over the feeling of John's body lying on the floor, the warm of his blood fleeting into the air. Then came the wound in her shoulder which still hurt. She had to admit with a small snub-nose revolver from such a distance, Leena was a near excellent shot. She touched the tender place where the hole had been sewn up and it still hurt and understandably so. The shot was a through and through and in that sense only was she lucky. Well, she knew she had her health so in all reality, things couldn't be better.

As she sat alone in her room, Kate moved her hand downward in the air and her memory went back to John's body. His body was ripe with holes and they oozed out his blood like a thousand fissures. How many others had died in such a manner? Less than ten more than ten. The creature as far as she knew was thirty-three years old. That meant the possibilities where nearly endless. She blamed herself however for not spotting peculiar traits that she should've been on the lookout for but she wasn't acute enough to see Leena's lies, see through her face of gentility and paint.

Outside it was still dark and winter mornings were always a long way off it seemed that way at least. Whatever calm she had was going to be shattered so soon and she knew that her sanity would be brought into question when she saw who was standing in the hospital parking lot three floors below. A demonic jester like grin on her face, Leena stood on a sidewalk the snow swirling around her in the wind. She was frozen in shock and still frozen as she saw the form move steadily across the crosswalk towards the main building wherein she slept. Kate had been assigned an overseer since the wounds in both shoulder and leg were still healing and it was to this nurse she appealed.

"Miss." she said her teeth chattering from fright, "could you come here quickly. There's someone you need to see."

The nurse came and seeing no one, she dismissed it as the trauma talking through hallucination. Helping a still trembling Kate to bed, she was oblivious to the girl who darted past the door entry and looked in at a Kate whose gaze met hers. Immediately, Kate began breathing rapidly and her heart was going for the sound of it was made ten times louder on the heart monitor. Realizing the distress of her patient, the nurse called another nurse in and they administered and emergency shot of Aulmadra. Kate calmed down and was eased into bed.

Leena sat in a waiting room and then followed the medicine cart as it made it's rounds. Having been treated for psychological problems all her life, she knew which medicines medicated what and to give too much of a good thing can kill. Taking a bottle of Depicote she headed to the nearest rest room. Once there, she made sure she was alone and then after grinding a couple of the large white pills into powder, she headed back towards Kate's room. Seeing the nurse was still awake, she went to the next place on her list, a visit to Daniel.

At last, she struck luck. His nurse was gone. He was asleep and she could now finish the job she started. Gently, she opened the door, closed it, walked silently over to the boy who was no longer on a respirator and removed his heartbeat sensor on his finger. Taking the ground Depicot, she poured it into his water and shook the full container so the medicine mixed well. The curtains were drawn and now finally vengeance no, retribution for his cruelty of her could finally be remedied as she placed his head and neck in her hands and violently snapped his neck.

There was a deep crunch and then silence. Silence so deep even breathing would have been too loud. Taking Daniel's water pitcher, Leena headed back towards Kate's room and to her relief the nurse was gone. Opening the door gently, she looked in and saw Kate asleep in her bed. Pressing this advantage, she put the pitcher she was carrying in place of the one on Kate's nightstand and as silently as she'd entered, she sat down in the chair next to Kate just waiting for her to arise.

_**AN: THAT'S ALL FOR NOW. PLEASE READ AND REVIEW.**_


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